


Jolene

by A_Love_Song_She_Wrote



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, Cheating, Crying, Cute, Dolly Parton - Freeform, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Good Friends, Guitar lessons, Guitars, Healthy Relationships, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan is a good friend, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan is a good person, I'm sad lol, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Inspired by Jolene (Dolly Parton), Jolene - Freeform, Love, Other, Post-Break Up, Reader Needs a Hug, Unhealthy Relationships, all vent, author needs a hug tbh, healing after a bad relationship, implied abusive relationship, rated M for the toxic relationship stuff, vent - Freeform, vent fic, very angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:53:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26476000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Love_Song_She_Wrote/pseuds/A_Love_Song_She_Wrote
Summary: Douxie teaches you how to play the guitar after a nasty break-up.
Relationships: Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Jolene

**Author's Note:**

> So, while this is cute towards the end and everything, I just want to apologize for anything that might be triggering. I got out of a very nasty relationship recently and I needed to vent. Thank the gods for the wizard boy, amirite? Anyway, thank you so much for reading, AATY will be updated soon, it’s just taking longer because I want to stay accurate to the actual episodes of wizards. Love you guys, please enjoy <3
> 
> (Also, try reading this while listening to Jolene and tell me what you think, bc I never did that and I want to know)

Looking back on it, you should have broken things off sooner.

Literally, every flag in that relationship had been red, but you ignored them all hoping that he’d get better. That he’d start to listen to you without responding in a resentful way, that he’d stop trying to control you, that he’d learn to respect your boundaries without a fight. It never happened.

You tried to bring up your grievances with him, but he always tried to turn it back on you, making it seem like your fault. It didn’t work. You were smart enough to recognize manipulation and gaslighting, but you weren’t smart enough to leave.

And then he cheated on you. That was enough.

You ended things as respectfully as possible, even though he really didn’t deserve it. You didn’t even mention his infidelity or the fact that he had never respected you. All you did was tell him that it wasn’t a good time for a relationship. He tried to make you feel guilty, but he never once asked you to stay or told you he loved you. You did the right thing. You knew that.

But you felt like crap after it was over.

All you did for the next two days was lounge around in your pyjamas and listen to ‘Jolene,’ by Dolly Parton over and over again. It wasn’t productive, but it was what you needed.

It made your friends a little nervous though. 

Throughout your little break from society, you'd received a decent amount of texts from concerned friends who weren’t super sure what was going on but wanted to support you nonetheless. 

Douxie was the first person you’d told.

He was the friend you trusted the most.

Of course, he was concerned for you. So concerned, in fact, that he straight-up ran to your apartment to spend time with you. And you really appreciated that.

You’d let him into your small home, which was surprisingly clean for the spiral you’d been going down. The only thing that a person could find odd was the music you were listening to. It was just ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton, over and over again.

It wasn’t exactly his type of music, but he respected your coping mechanisms. And he had to admit, the guitar was really nice.

“So, how’re you holding up,”

“I’m okay I guess. Better than I thought I’d be. It just kinda hurts, y’ know?”

“I know, darling, I know. Here, sit down, I’m making you some tea,”

“You don’t have to-”

“I’m going to,”

You smiled, watching him walk into your kitchen before you flopped down onto your couch. The tea didn’t take long, and before you knew it, Douxie was on the couch next to you.

The warmth from the cup was nice, simulating human contact. You missed human contact. And now you had no one to give it to you. Not like you did before, but still, the thought stung.

You didn’t realize there were tears in your eyes until Douxie’s hand was on your shoulder. His hazel eyes peering into yours. You hoped he didn’t see how hurt you really were.

He did.

“Oh, love, come ‘ere,” 

More tears came to your eyes as Douxie came closer, wrapping you in the best hug you’d had in months. He didn’t say anything, and neither did you. He just held you close and let you cry into his shoulder for as long as you needed. And this was what you needed. 

It took you about ten minutes to cry yourself out. Douxie didn’t mind. He was going to be there for you, no matter what, and if that meant his shirt got a little damp, he didn’t care. You were more important.

“Thanks, Doux,” you said, voice rough from crying, “Oh, god. I’m sorry,”

“You don’t need to apologize. You needed to vent your feelings, I’m just glad I could help,”

“Me too,” you pulled back, just enough to see his face, “I’m still going to apologize for getting your shirt wet though,”

Douxie laughed, “That’s fine, (Y/N), I care more about you than the shirt,”

You didn’t say anything. If you did you’d cry again.

So, you just sat there, relaxing with your friend, drinking tea and listening to Jolene on repeat. Your eyes were closed, your head on his shoulder, and his arm around you. It was nice. Really nice. Better than anything in your actual relationship.

And then you had an idea.

“Hey, Douxie? You do music, yeah?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Do you think you could teach me how to play this on the guitar?”

“If you want me to I can,”

“I think I’d like that. I want to make something good out of this. It can’t be all heartbreak,”

“You’re right, darling, it can’t. We won’t let it,”

You smiled at him, making his whole being feel warm, “Thank you,”

“It’s my pleasure. I can pick you up tomorrow if you’d like?”

“That sounds good,” you said, relaxing back into your place at his side.

The two of you stayed like that for another hour. You could have stayed there forever, but you wanted Douxie to get home before it got too dark. Weird things happened in Arcadia at night, and wizard or not, you’d prefer it if he stayed safe. 

You said goodbye in a moment of tension. Not the same angry tension you’d known with your ex, but something new. Something much softer. You realized then that you wanted to kiss Douxie. That kissing him wouldn’t be a chore, something you did to keep up appearances. It wouldn’t be something that was done to you because someone else wanted it. This would be something you did because you wanted to. But you didn’t kiss him. Not yet.

The next day, Douxie was at your door, ready to walk you from your apartment to his. It wasn’t a long walk by any means, but it was enough to fit in some quirky banter. It was more than enough for you to feel safe again.

“Do you think pigeons have feelings?” you asked as Douxie unlocked the door.

“Probably. We could ask Archie, he might know?”

“That sounds like a plan,”

He let you into his home, which was just as you remembered it. Comfortable, a bit scrappy, but in a way that made you feel comfortable. Right now, Douxie’s apartment felt more like home than yours did.

“You get the guitar, I’ll make tea,” you said, turning to face him.

“You don’t have to-”

“Ah, yes, but I’m going to,”

He smiled as you walked away. 

One pot of tea later, a guitar was in your hands. It was taking you a hot minute to get the chords right, but you were nothing if not determined. Douxie was an amazing teacher. He was patient, calm, and not at all condescending. It was a nice change from what you were used to.

“Here, let me,” he said, moving his hands to rest over yours, positioning your hands properly, “Like this,”

“Thank you, Douxie,”

“It’s not a problem, love,”

“No, I mean, seriously. You didn’t have to do this. Thank you,”

He moved his eyes from your hands to your eyes, “(Y/N), of course I had to do this. You deserve the world and better,” he took a deep breath, “Love, I’m so sorry that that bastard hurt you. He did so many awful things to you, and you’re incredible for handling it the way that you did,” 

“Really?”

“Uh, yeah? You handled it like an adult. I think I would have killed him,”

You laughed. You wouldn’t mind it so much if Douxie fought your ex. You didn’t want him dead, but if your wizard friend could kick his ass a little, that would be nice. Of course, the first one who got a chance at knocking some sense into that slimy git would be you, but after that Douxie could have his turn. The thought made you laugh harder.

It only took a minute for both you and Douxie to be on the floor, laughing. It wasn’t even that funny, but crying from laughter felt a lot better than crying from heartbreak. Eventually, you picked up the guitar again, but it took a while. You couldn’t get enough of Douxie’s laugh, and he couldn’t get enough of yours.

Before he walked you home, Douxie grabbed your shoulders, “You know you deserve better than him, right?”

You grinned, wrapping your arms around his waist, “I know. But it’s nice to hear someone else say it,”

“I’m glad I could be of service,”

You giggled again, still wanting to kiss him. But you didn’t. Not yet.

It took you a little while to learn all of Jolene. Some parts were harder than others, but eventually, you got it. Douxie had never been prouder. 

After that, you were addicted. You got Douxie to teach you other songs. It didn’t take much convincing. He loved listening to you play. He loved a lot more than that, and you loved a lot more than the guitar.

It had been a few months since the break-up. 

You were in Douxie’s apartment, Archie curled up by the window, the wizard himself in the kitchen, and you on the couch, trying to get a chord right. It wasn’t going well. You groaned loudly, waking Archie.

“You don’t have more questions about pigeons, do you? Because I told you, I will not be speaking with them again-”

“No, Arch, it’s not that. It’s just this freaking chord is driving me insane,”

“Ah,” the familiar said, looking between you and the guitar, “I’d help if I had hands. Good luck, though,”

“Thanks, Arch,” you returned your focus to the chord, still frustrated. Then Douxie’s hands were on yours.

“You’ve almost got it, it’s just-” he adjusted your hands. As he did, you noticed how close he was, seated behind you on the couch.

“Thank you, Doux. Not just for this, I mean for everything, you’ve been amazing the past few months, and I-”

“(Y/N), I would do anything for you,”

You turned as much as you could, facing him, “Really?” you asked, hearing your own smirk in your voice.

Douxie laughed slightly, “Really. I-” he bit his lip, driving you more insane than any guitar chord ever could, “I think I love you, (Y/N),”

This was it.

You (finally) kissed him.

And it wasn’t a chore or something that was done to you, it was something you did that you both wanted to do. It was soft and safe, and it felt good. It felt like you were loved the way you deserved to be loved. This was the world and better.

“I love you too, Douxie,”

**Author's Note:**

> In other news, Daniel Howell wrote a book. I pre-ordered that, so that's nice. Thank you for reading y'all, your support means the world to me. Have a good night, guys <3


End file.
